title: Is pelvic pain associated with defecatory symptoms in women with pelvic organ prolapse?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the significance of pelvic pain and its association with defecatory symptoms in women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP).
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross sectional study of 248 women with stage II POP or greater. Women were stratified into "pain" and "no-pain" groups based on their response to a question on the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory short form. Associations between patient demographics, exam findings and responses to validated questionnaires were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In women with POP, defecatory symptoms are significantly more common in women with pelvic pain including straining with bowel movement (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3, 4.6), sense of incomplete emptying (OR 4.4, 95% CI 2.3, 8.2), pain with bowel movement (OR 5.3, 95% CI 1.2, 23.0) and splinting with bowel movement (OR 3.8, 95% CI 2.0, 7.5).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In women with POP, the symptom of pelvic pain is associated with the presence of defecatory symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. Tirsit@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Tirsit S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Asfaw
authors.forename: Emily K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Saks
authors.forename: Gina M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Northington
authors.forename: Lily A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Arya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003672:Defecation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010147:Pain Measurement; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015143:Philadelphia; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires